If your Instagram growth strategy is all about pleasing the algorithm, you’re falling behind the times. As social networks shift to allow users to discover content with greater intention, it’s time to master Instagram SEO – and our digital agency in Melbourne is here to help.

Keep reading to learn the best ways to optimise your profile and content and get seen online by the people who are actively searching for brands similar to yours.

What is Instagram SEO?

Instagram SEO is the practice of optimising your Instagram content to be discovered in search results on the platform. When someone uses the Instagram search box to look up words related to your business, you want your account or content to appear near the top of the list — and Instagram SEO tactics can help you achieve this goal.

Instagram search results include relevant content, accounts, audio, hashtags, and places.

There are also keyword results pages meant for browsing. Each keyword results page (indicated with a magnifying glass) is essentially an Explore page for that specific keyword.

Below, we break down the different “types” of Instagram SEO, or parts of your profile that can be optimised for greater visibility.

Instagram bio SEO

Your Instagram bio is an important component of SEO for Instagram. It’s a critical place to include relevant keywords and search terms.

Use your Instagram bio to provide context for both human visitors and the bots that return search results. Who are you, and what are you all about? What kind of content can people (and the Instagram search engine) expect to find in your grid?

Instagram name SEO

Instagram name SEO means choosing a handle and profile name that are relevant to your content and include terms people will use to search for accounts like yours.

If you’re well known by your brand name, then that’s the best place to start. If there’s room for a relevant keyword in your handle or name, include that too.

Instagram alt text SEO

Alt text on Instagram is just like alt text on the web. It’s a text description of an image or video that makes the content accessible to those with visual impairments. It also provides a description of the content in case the photo itself fails to load.

Why is Instagram SEO so important?

There was a time when people primarily discovered new Instagram content through hashtags or the Explore page. Those days are over. Now, when people want to find specific types of content on Instagram (and other social media), they use search.

Hootsuite ran an experiment to test Instagram SEO against hashtags. Posts optimised for SEO saw 30% greater reach and twice as many likes. So, if you want to reach a relevant audience that’s actively seeking out brands, products, and services similar to yours, Instagram SEO is the strategy for you.

Instagram SEO ranking factors

SEO, in general, is a little bit art, a little bit science. Instagram SEO is no different. There’s no exact formula to rocket your account to the top of the search rankings.

However, there are three specific Instagram SEO ranking factors that help the search bots understand what content to deliver in response to an Instagram search.

Search text

It’s no surprise that what someone types in the search bar is the most important signal to search. Based on the search terms, Instagram looks for relevant usernames, bios, captions, hashtags, and locations.

User activity

This includes hashtags and accounts the user has followed and interacted with, and which posts they’ve viewed in the past – even from accounts they don’t follow. Accounts and hashtags the user interacts with rank higher than those they don’t.

Popularity signals

Content that’s already popular is most likely to rank higher in the search results. Instagram determines popularity using signals like the number of clicks, likes, shares, and follows.

Instagram SEO tactics to increase your reach

1. Use Instagram SEO keywords in your captions 

You need to understand what search terms people use to look for content like yours, then incorporate them into your captions.

Free SEO tools for Instagram keyword discovery include Google Analytics (to see which keywords are driving traffic to your website) and Google Trends to uncover other related keywords to test in your Instagram posts.

Hootsuite Insights powered by Brandwatch is another good tool for discovering Instagram SEO keywords. Use the word cloud feature to uncover common words used in relation to your brand, industry, or hashtags.

You can also use the Instagram search bar itself to discover relevant key phrases. Start typing a keyword in the search bar and you’ll see suggested keyword phrases you may want to add to your existing keyword list.

2. Use SEO-driven hashtags

Instagram has shared some specific hashtag tips for showing up in the search results:

• Use only relevant hashtags
• Use a combination of well-known, niche, and specific (think branded or campaign-based) hashtags
• Limit hashtags to 3 to 5 per post
• Don’t use irrelevant or overly generic hashtags like #explorepage

And here’s an important PSA: It no longer works to hide hashtags in comments! Hashtags need to be placed directly in the caption to impact the search results.

So, what are the best hashtags for SEO on Instagram?

That depends on your business and your audience. To get a sense of which hashtags are already driving traffic to your posts, take a look at your Instagram Insights. The Insights for any post will tell you how many impressions for that post came from hashtags.

If you’ve used multiple hashtags, Instagram analytics won’t tell you exactly which ones did the heavy lifting. But if you’re sticking to the recommended 3 to 5 hashtags, you should be able to determine which ones consistently drive traffic over time.

You can also use social listening to see what hashtags your target audience, your competitors, and influencers in your industry are already using.

Finally, just like for Instagram SEO keywords, you can use the Instagram search bar for some hashtag research.

Type a keyword into the search bar, then tap Tags to see the top hashtags for that keyword.

3. Optimise your alt text

Instagram uses object recognition technology to create an automatic description of each photo for those who use a screen reader. This information also provides information to the Instagram algorithm and search results about the content of your photo.

To add alt text when you post a photo, scroll down to the bottom of the screen where you write your caption and tap Advanced settings.

Under Accessibility, tap Write alt text and add a photo description that incorporates relevant keywords.

Be sure to follow Instagram’s recommendations for alt text:

• Add context about objects, concepts, and locations
• Include any text that appears in the image
• Aim for 2-3 sentences

To view or add alt text to an existing photo, open the photo and tap the three dots icon, then tap Edit. At the bottom right of the image, tap Edit alt text.

Enter your alt text, then tap the blue checkmark.

4. Use subtitles for video content

Instagram has auto-generated subtitles for videos, which is great for accessibility. But an added bonus of using video subtitles that include your target keywords is that they provide more context for SEO – both within Instagram and on regular search engines.

Adding subtitles essentially allows search crawlers to understand the contents of your video in much greater detail than a simple caption.

5. Post at the right time

Posting at the right time is an important factor in sparking early engagement, which impacts the popularity ranking signal. Knowing the best times to post ensures your content gets a search boost while it’s still relevant and fresh.

Hootsuite’s Best Time to Publish feature (found under Analytics) tells you the best times to post on Instagram (as well as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and TikTok). The recommendations are based on your past performance and tailored to your unique audience and their activity patterns on social.

But there’s no “best” time to publish for everything. The Best Time to Publish tool goes one step further than the rest and breaks down different suggested times for four key goals:

• Extend reach
• Build awareness
• Increase engagement
• Drive traffic

This allows you to match each piece of content to a specific business goal and optimise your posting schedule for maximum effectiveness.

6. Lean into your niche

The tips we’ve talked about so far deal with individual posts. Now we’re moving on to talk about improving the search visibility of your whole account.

The goal of Instagram’s search function is to return the most relevant results to users. One way to signal that relevance is to have a consistent theme to your account. Choose a niche and generally stay within it, posting relevant content that speaks to a consistent set of keywords. That overall body of work will tell the Instagram search engine that you’ve got more to offer than just one specific post.

Staying focused on a niche is also a good way to build a loyal and engaged following. While that’s an excellent goal on its own, it also contributes to search visibility, since engagement is important for the popularity ranking signal.

7. Add a location to your bio

Include a location in your bio if it’s relevant to your business. Only Business accounts can add a location, so this is just one more reason to make the switch to a business account if you haven’t already done so.

To add a profile location for Instagram bio SEO, open the Instagram app and tap on your profile icon. Tap Edit Profile, then Contact Options. Enter your address, being as specific or as general as you like. You can enter your specific street address if that’s relevant, or just use your city.

Make sure you turn on the slider bar for Display contact info.

Your location only appears on your profile page on the app, not the web version of Instagram. But once it’s attached to your account, it’s a ranking signal to the Instagram search engine regardless of whether your audience is using the app or the web.

For bonus Instagram search points, make sure your business location is taggable, so it appears in Instagram’s searchable map.

This requires you to connect your Instagram account to a Facebook Business Page and edit the address on your Facebook Page.

8. Engage with accounts that rank for your target keywords

Engaging with accounts that already rank for your target keywords helps Instagram understand what niche your account fits into through the user activity ranking signal.

But beyond that, engaging with fellow Instagram users is a good way to encourage them to engage back with you. And, as we’ve said several times already, engagement is a hugely important popularity ranking signal, so this is an easy way to double-dip on ranking factors. It’s also just a general Instagram best practice!

9. Follow the recommendations guidelines

Instagram search results factor in the Instagram Recommendations Guidelines. Accounts that go against these guidelines appear lower in search results or do not appear in search at all.

Keep in mind that the Recommendations Guidelines are more stringent than the Community Guidelines. In short, if you violate the Community Guidelines, your content will be removed from Instagram altogether. If you go against the Recommendations Guidelines, your content will still appear on the platform, but it will be harder to find.

Instagram search avoids recommending content that is “low-quality, objectionable, or sensitive,” as well as content that “may be inappropriate for younger viewers.” Some specific examples of what NOT to do include:

• Clickbait or engagement bait
• Exaggerated health claims
• Unoriginal content copied from another source
• Misleading claims or content
• Buying likes

Make sure you’re on the right side of the Recommendations Guidelines by checking your account status.

From your profile, tap the menu icon, then Settings > Preferences (or Account, depending on your account type) > Account Status.

Here you’ll see if anything you’ve posted violates the guidelines, and what you should do about it.

Affordable social media marketing designed for small businesses

As Instagram becomes a primary platform for users actively seeking content, optimising your presence can make all the difference. At our digital marketing agency in Melbourne, we understand the significance of staying ahead in the digital game when it comes to SEO and social media marketing.

Our agency is here to support small businesses like yours with affordable social media packages tailored to boost your online visibility. We know that navigating the complexities of Instagram SEO can be challenging, but with our expertise and dedication, you can harness the power of this dynamic platform. Let us help you craft a compelling Instagram strategy that aligns with your brand’s goals and reaches the right audience.

Don’t miss out on the opportunities Instagram offers for growth.

Partner with us, and together, we’ll optimise your Instagram presence, drive engagement, and enhance your online success. Your journey to digital excellence starts with us!

Get a FREE strategy call today!